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TOWN OF LEXINGTON 23 REPORT OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN December 31, 1954 To the Residents of Lexington: Once again the Board of Selectmen makes its annual report to the people of Lexington. In this report we will outline the major accomplishments of the year 1954 and also the problems which the. town is facing in the immediate future. In 1954 building in Lexington dropped considerably in com- parison to previous years. Only 277 building permits were issued in 1954, whereas there were 567 in 1953. However, in looking at the number of sub -divisions now pending before the Planning Board for approval, 1955 may be another big building year. The Hanscom Airfield and the M. I. T. Lincoln Laboratories are still expanding and giving the Town much concern. The Jet Interceptor Squadron will be based at Hanscom Airfield in the Spring of 1955 unless present plans are changed in the meantime. The East-West runway is nearing completion and the effect it will have on Lexington is yet to be determined. During the year 1954 we were unable to complete all of the projects for which money was appropriated at the Annual March Town Meeting because our planning was upset by Hurricanes Carol and Edna. In brief, we list below the major projects completed in 1954. 1. Water Mains a. In continuing our policy of enlarging our water mains to provide the required pressure, we have installed a 12" main in Adams Street at East Street thence to Meriam Street and from Meriam Street to Massachusetts Avenue to insure a sufficient supply of water and desired pres- sure in the Meriam Hill area. b. Many sub -division water mains were installed under our supervision and a total of 7,374 feet laid at no expense to the town. c. A water main 360 feet in length was installed in Grassland Street and 660 feet was installed in Winter Street. 24 ANNUAL REPORTS 2. Sewers a. A sewer main has been completed in Lowell Street from the corner of Summer Street to the corner of Maple Street. This will correct a bad situation in that area and also enable the Sun Valley development to be sewered under the sub -division rules. Another sewer was installed in Spring Street, from Mar- rett Road opposite Dan Curtin's across the field to Spring Street, along Spring Street to the corner of Shade Street. c. Sewers were also installed in Butler Avenue, Lincoln Street, Lincoln Terrace, Hill Street and in Adams Street for a distance of 125 feet. d. Sewers were installed in the Sun Valley development a distance of 2500 feet at no expense to the town. b. 3. Street Construction a. The construction of Oak Terrace, Bertwell Road and Wil- liams Road has been completed. b. Massachusetts Avenue has been resurfaced from Grant Street to the corner of Woburn Street. Other streets re- surfaced were Buckman Drive and Dawes Road. c. Many subdivision streets have been constructed under the supervision of our Public Works and Engineering Depart- ments, but at the developers' expense. d. Hill Street was constructed and partially surfaced as a Chapter 90 project. 4. Drainage a. The drainage projects were delayed this year due to the hurricanes. However, we did complete drains in Oak Terrace, Bertwell Road, Williams Road and a portion of the enclosed field at the Center Playground. b. Drains were also constructed in the sub -division streets. The year 1954 had many highlights of which hurricanes Carol and Edna were most prominent.